Modern Names of Places Mentioned in the Bible

 

Numbers 13:22 Zoan (Muhafaza as Sarqiya, Egypt)

1 and 2 Thessalonians Thessalonica (Thessaloniki, Greece)

Acts 21:7 Ptolemais (Acre, Israel)

Titus 3:12 Nicopolis (Prevesa, Greece)

Ezekiel 38:13 Dedan (al-Ula, Saudi Arabia)

Mainstream vs Traditional

Recently, I have spoken several times about Christians who hold to the traditional faith being thought of as outside the “mainstream.”  We are often portrayed as “odd,” “eccentric,” “wrong-headed,” “extreme,” “bigoted,” or “fringe.”  Most often the insults are subtly delivered.

Religious denominations are spoken of by the “mainstream media” as “mainstream” (meaning progressive or liberal) or “outside the mainstream.”  This places those who are “outside the mainstream” into the same general category as the numerous obscure or strange sects and cults. It is an insult and I believe that it is a form of persecution which seeks to force us to “evolve.”  This is another insult which assumes that we are “cavemen” or “neanderthals.”

Persecution is not always of the “throw them to the lions” sort.  It also exists in the sideways snicker, in the assumption that traditional Christians are “simple” or intellectually inferior, or that we are socially backward, or that we are totally outdated dinosaurs not relevant to the modern world.

AND SADLY … this patronizing and insulting (I say heretical) thought often comes from the “mainstream’ churches and from movements such as the Emerging Church.  Listen to what the Bible clearly says.

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Jude 1:3.  Jude was Jesus’s brother.

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”  Romans 12:2

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”  Galatians 1:8.  The word which the translators have rendered as “accursed” is, in the Greek, ἀνάθεμα (anathema), from ἀνά (ana), meaning "on", and τίθημι (tithēmi), meaning "I put."  Originally this referred to a gift to God or to the pagan gods.  Echoes of the  Hebrew word "herem" (חרם) referred to something forbidden or off-limits, because it was dedicated for religious use and not useable in the common world. (Numbers 18:14; Leviticus 27:28-29); and hence the idea of “exterminating” or “dead” was connected with the word.  Various translations of the words anathema and herem have included "cursed," "disliked," "loathed," "banned," "excommunicated," "excluded," "denounced," "vehemently rejected," "off limits," and "devoted to evil."

Deuteronomy 7:26 calls a pagan idol a herem. Here it is: “Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”

What Zombies Really Represent

Zombies are quite popular right now, appearing in numerous films, television series, and novels.  Originally seen as soulless bodies animated by the will of a master, zombies were sent out to perform tasks.  They were represented in films as slave laborers (White Zombie, 1932), as a murderer/kidnapper (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919), and as a compliant, silent, and emotionless slave who will carry out any order by his master (I Walked With a Zombie, 1943).

Zombies have captured the imagination of the horror film community, with over 600 feature films and over 50 short films having been produced as of today.  One of the most highly regarded modern American television series is The Walking Dead.  One of the reasons for the success of the series is that, while it never flinches in showing gore and zombie violence, it is actually not about zombies.    The human characters of the series eventually come to realize that they, not the zombies, are the walking dead.

The concept of a zombie changed radically with the 1968 George Romero film, Night of the Living Dead.  Many consider this to be the first modern horror film.  The movie is not technically excellent, the acting is not of the best quality, and the low budget is very evident.  And, the movie is studied in every film school on Earth because it perfectly expresses the tensions and meaninglessness present in the modern world.   Some Christians have come to realize that zombies represent even more than that.

Numbers 19:11-22 declares dead bodies to be unclean; Romans 3:23 declares that everyone has sinned; and James 1:15 tells us that “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”  Without the unmerited grace of God, we are unclean, we are dead, we are decaying, we are the walking dead.  Because Christians are covered by the Blood of Christ, when God looks at us, He sees Jesus.

Think of the parallels between the film zombies and the unredeemed world.  Non-Christians, those who do not know Jesus, are unclean, they are dead, they are decaying, they are the walking dead.  Most do not realize that they are dead. They are like the zombies in the 1978 George Romero film, Dawn of the Dead, who cram themselves into the local shopping mall and walk around in front of the stores.  They are “pretending to be alive.”

Like the zombies in the movies, if they get a really hard bite out of a person, that person becomes one of them.  They are insatiable and virtually unstoppable.  They represent raw hunger, the primal lust for blood, which is life (Leviticus 17:14).

They will kill anything and anyone who stands in the way of their obtaining what they want.  What you want, need, or think is unimportant to them.  They are your neighbors, friends, and even members of your family.

The film zombies can be seen as representing raw sin.  The essence of sin is self at the expense of all other considerations.  Sin wants more and more, it is relentless.  Sin will use others to get what it wants; others are merely food.  And sin ultimately causes decay of the sinner, dulling the perceptions.  Sin takes on a life of its own.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10

Definition: Sanhedrin

In yesterday’s post on the Rich Young Ruler I said the it was possible that he was a member of the Sanhedrin.  The word is often translated as “council,” and when presented as “Sanhedrin” is a direct transliteration of the Aramaic word and the Greek word synedrion.  The word seems to have begun in Greek and then passed into Aramiac and, in Greek, means “together” and “seat,” so, “to sit together.” The Greek speaking Jews called it the gerousia, “the Assembly of the Ancients.”

The Sanhedrin was a council of judges who ruled in matters of a strictly Jewish nature.  The Romans held all real political power.

Jewish tradition says that the Sanhedrin began with Moses and his council of seventy elder (Numbers 11:16) but the first undisputed mention of the gerousia is in The Antiquities of the Jews, (XII, iii, 3) by Josephus, in his discussion of the reign of Antiochus the Great (223-187 B.C.).

Messianic Prophecies From the Bible: The Star of Bethlehem

Messianic Prophecies is a recurrent segment in this blog.  To see links to several other posts, click here.

Old Testament:

“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17

New Testament:

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”  Matthew 2:1-2

In ancient times, stars and comets were often believed to be heralds of important events.  Stars were also seen as symbols of royal power.

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To see other posts about Messianic prophecies in the Bible, go to the Labels list at the bottom of this page.  The labels are in alphabetical order.  Click on "Messianic Prophecies."

Typographical Errors

In my post yesterday on The Big Book of Church Jokes I made a typographical error, even though I check every post for spelling and grammar before I release it.  It is very easy to misspell a word, double your “ands” or your “thes, ” leave out “of,” or to  say something which seems logical when written but which really makes no sense.  In yesterday’s post, I spelled “silly” as “sily.”  I apparently totally missed the red underlining provided by my word processor’s Spell Checker program.

Knowing how easy it is to make a mistake when one writes, it makes it even more amazing to know that the first five books of the Bible (the Torah) have been preserved by the Jews at the LETTER level for thousands of years.

Each synagogue which can afford one owns as Sefer Torah, a handwritten copy of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  This is in the form of a scroll which is used in formal religious ceremonies.  When not in use, the scroll is stored in the holiest spot in the synagogue.

Each of the scrolls is produced under extremely restrictive conditions, on a particular type of parchment using a particular type of quill pen by one specially trained rabbi.  The entire scroll must be produced by that one sofer (scribe)..

The number of letters must total 304,805 with each letter in its proper position, each one perfectly formed, sized, and placed.  The ink of a random imperfect letter may be scraped off the parchment and replaced by a perfect one.  If any error of any sort involves the name of God, that page must be cut from the scroll and a new perfect page must be sewn into its place.  The removed page is buried with respect.

A Sefer Torah can take as long as a year and one half to produce and cost as much as $10,000.  Parchment is a perishable material; still, the oldest known surviving are over 700 years old.

The Jews have done us a great service by their historical insistence on preserving the purity of the scriptures.

Some Reasons Why Mormons Are Not Christian

Mormons insist that they are Christians but there are many sharp divergences between orthodox Christian doctrine and Mormon doctrine.   Listed below are just a few of them.


Orthodox Christian doctrine:  Do not add to scripture. Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32, Proverbs 30:5-6, Revelation 22:18-19
Mormon doctrine: The Mormon canon includes three additional scriptures: The Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and The Doctrine and Covenants.

Orthodox Christian doctrine:  God is not a man, but a spirit.  (Numbers 23:19; John 4:24)

Mormon doctrine:  God was once a man like us and, even now has a physical body.

Orthodox Christian doctrine: There is only one God, who created all of existence. (Isaiah 44:6)

Mormon doctrine: There are millions of Gods, each of whom has created his own universe.

Orthodox Christian doctrine: God is pre-existent and eternal.

Mormon doctrine: God was once a man on another planet who earned godhood by his good works.  He and his wife populated this world with their spirit children (us).

Orthodox Christian doctrine: Jesus is pre-existent and was present at the creation. 

Mormon doctrine: Jesus was the first spirit child of God and his wife.  He married several of the Marys named in the New Testament.  His first brother was Satan.  We are subsequent sons and daughters of God.

Orthodox Christian doctrine: God is one God who exists as three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Mormon doctrine:The Trinity is three gods united in purpose.

Orthodox Christian doctrine: The ultimate destiny of individual Christians is sinless perfection in an eternal relationship with the Lord.

Mormon doctrine: Each Mormon man may become a god through his good works and create his own universe.  He and his wife will populate their universe with their spirit children.

Orthodox Christian doctrine: Salvation is by grace through faith based on the shed blood of Christ.  Good works are a result of salvation.

Mormon doctrine: Salvation is by faith and by following the commands of God.  The shed blood of Christ is not the source of salvation.  Salvation is conditional on faith, repentence, baptism, and keeping the commands of God.


"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?   And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23.

Bible Printer's Errors: The Lions Bible

The Lions Bible (1804) is a King James Version which was either not proofread at all or the errors were ignored because they would be expensive to correct.  There were multiple variant readings, including the three below. 

What it said:

“Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put together.” Numbers 35:18

What it should have said:

“Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.” Numbers 35:18

What it said:

“For the flesh lusteth after the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”  Galatians 5:17

What it should have said:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17

And the error for which this Bible edition is named.

What it said:

“Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy lions, he shall build the house unto my name.” 1Kings 8:19

What it should have said:

“Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.” 1Kings 8:19

The Book of the Wars of the Lord

The Book of the Wars of the Lord is one of several otherwise unknown works mentioned in the Bible.  Gil Student, a Jewish scholar, in "On the Authorship of the Torah," at http://www.aishdas.org/toratemet/en_torah.html , says "... we have seen the talmudic and midrashic evidence that the forefathers, including Moshe, wrote books other than the Torah that were maintained and studied.  However, there is also much internal evidence that there were other books written."  The Book of the Wars of the Lord, quoted in Numbers 21:14-15, would be one of those books.

No one knows exactly what this book was but there have been many educated guesses: a collection of victory songs or poems; a book of Hebrew/ Israelite military history; another name for The Book of Jasher (mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18); a collection of sacred poems; and a military instruction manual written by Moses for use by Joshua.

Non-canonical books such as The Wars of the Lord are mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments and Paul even quoted pagan poets to make his points.

The Saddest Day in Jewish History

When Moses sent the twelve spies into Canaan, only two, Joshua and Caleb, came back with a positive report.  God declared that that present generation would not enter the Promised Land and that the day, the ninth of Av, would become one of crying for their descendents. (Numbers 13 and 14.)

The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC/BCE occurred on Tisha b'av, the ninth day of the month of Av (Hebrew Calendar).

The destruction of the Second Jewish Temple by Rome in 70 AD/CE occurred on the ninth of Av.

The Romans put down the Bar Kochba Revolt and destroyed the city of Betar in 132 AD/CE, on the ninth of Av.  Over 100,000 Jews were killed.

In 133 AD/CE, on the ninth of Av, the Roman commander Turnus Rufus plowed the site of the Temple.

The expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492 by King Ferdinand, the declaration of the First Crusade, the outbreak of World War I, and the deportation of Warsaw's Jews to the Treblinka Death Camp are all sometimes associated with the 9th of Av but did not occur on that day.  The Warsaw deportation is the closest to the correct date, beginning as it did on the 10th of Av.

Tisha B'Av is an annual fast day in Judaism.  Observant Jews do not eat, drink, work, bathe, wear leather shoes, or have sex on this day because it is a day of mourning.

Numbers

The book of Numbers takes its English name as a translation of the Latin name of the book in the Vulgate, Numeri, and the Greek name of the book in the Septuagent, Αριτημοι. Both names refer to the two numberings in the book, which occur in Chapters 1-4, and in Chapter 26.

Jerome (340? - 420) and Epiphanius (315? - 403) referred to the book as "The Lord Spoke." It was common Jewish practice to name scriptures by their first one or two words. In the case of Numbers, the Jews didn't follow this tradition because the the phrase didn't unambiguously identify the book.

Numbers begins two years after the Israelites escaped from Egypt and ends thirty-eight years later with them looking at the Promised Land from the Transjordan area. The name of the book in the Jewish Bible is b'midhbar (or Bemidbar), which, appropriately enough, means "in the wilderness."